10 Reasons Why We Buy Sneakers

Why do we buy sneakers?

When I first asked myself this question I thought, simple, because I like them. But then I began giving more thought into the actual reasons WHY I buy the shoes that I buy and it was much more deeper than just because I like them. I began thinking of all of the shoes that I own (which is not that many) and I thought of the reason(s) why I bought them.

The truth is, there’s many reasons why we decide to buy a particular pair of kicks. Some of the reasons include because you love a particular silhouette, or maybe you’re a fan of a certain colorway, or maybe because the shoe has some emotional significance to you. I don’t want to give them all away so I’ll let you read the rest of this article. Of course sometimes we make instinct purchases, but even those shoes have a valid reason as to why we bought them. Buying sneakers is not a cheap hobby, so the next time that you’re about to buy a pair of shoes, ask yourself “Why am I buying this pair of shoes?” So without further ado, here are 10 Reasons Why We Buy Sneakers.

Emotional Attachment

Many of us are passionate when it comes to sneakers. We wear or buy shoes because of the genuine love that we have for them. Many times we buy certain shoes, over and over again, because there’s an emotional attachment or personal significance behind the shoe. It can be the first pair that you ever bought with your own money, the pair that you got engaged in, or maybe the pair that you wore during that memorable sporting event that you attended. To me the Air Jordan 17 black/metallic silver holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first pair of shoes that I bought with my own money when I was in middle school. Most of the time this shoe is priceless in the sense that you can’t put monetary value on a moment in your life that can’t be described with words.

Exclusivity

Who doesn’t like having a pair of sneakers that not many people own? This is why samples cost so much money; because nobody has them. The more limited or exclusive a sneaker is, the higher chances that it will be expensive. The Undefeated x Air Jordan 4 is a perfect example of that. I don’t hear many people saying that they love the combination of olive green and orange very much, but when you slap it on an Air Jordan 4 collaboration and make less than 80 pairs, you’re gonna see people wanting to pay ridiculous prices for a shoe like this.

History

There are some shoes that changed the history of the sneaker culture FOREVER! When I think of a sneaker that has so much historical significance, the Air Jordan 1 High “Chicago” automatically comes to mind. You can argue that this shoe (and the Air Jordan 1 in general) is the reason that a sneaker culture even exists today. Many people (including myself) feel the need to have certain shoes with so much history behind them in their collection. Good luck to those of you hoping to grab a pair tomorrow!

Comfort

The older one gets, the more and more you focus on buying sneakers that are actually comfortable. Let’s be honest here for a second, Air Jordan retros are beautiful, but they’re not the most comfortable shoes in the world. When I think of comfort I think certain shoes like the adidas Pure Boost, Nike Lunar Flyknit Chukka or the Nike Air Huarache. Shoes like this may not look as nice as a pair of retros, but your feet will definitely thank you for wearing them. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re not as expensive as retros either.

Affordable

Any time I see a shoe that I like (not love) and it costs less than $100, I try to convince myself not to buy it. The Nike Roshe Run is one of those shoes for me. It’s lightweight, stylish and affordable ($70). I kept buying pair after pair and somehow I now have 12 Roshe Runs. Oops! It’s just so hard to pass up on a nice pair of shoes that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Can you blame me?

Colorway

Have you ever bought a pair of kicks just because it’s red? Yeah, me too. I’m a big Toronto Raptors and LA Dodgers fan, so those team colors play a pretty big part in deciding which colorway of sneakers I buy. I own lots of Raptors and Dodger hats so something I like to do is match up my sneakers with my hats. As a result, most of my Air Jordans have a lot of black and red on them. I promise I’m not a hypebeast though…

Brand Loyalty

Do you know someone who wears JUST one brand of kicks? Whether, it’s adidas, Nike, Reebok, Jordan, Puma or any other brand, some people stay loyal to one brand and don’t buy anything except that brand. Talk about a lack of variety. I’ll never be loyal to one brand unless they pay me to wear their shoes. Some people act like Jordan Brand is the only brand that exists and they have the same releases as everyone else. Switch it up bro!

Hype

Fight The Hype!

Thanks to social media, these days we see picture after picture after picture of the same shoes. Whether it’s the newest Air Jordan retro that released last week, or the Air Yeezy 2, the more we see a sneaker the more we want it in our collection. I mean it’s natural, when something is glorified with nice angles and sharp filters, it makes us like it. Whenever I see the “Red Octobers” on IG, I read through the comments and see that some people are willing to do some pretty crazy stuff to get their hands on a pair.

Silhouette Collector

“The Air Jordan 11 Is The Best Sneaker of All Time!”
– Lots of people

Some people love a certain silhouette so much that they have to buy every single colorway that releases. I’ve seen some people buy a shoe that they don’t really love, but they still buy it because it’s their favorite silhouette. There’s no way I’m buying a $200 shoe unless I absolutely love it! It is pretty cool to have every colorway of a certain silhouette though, it shows your passion and dedication for that particular sneaker.

Because YOU Like It

This should be the biggest and most important reason that you buy a sneaker, because YOU like it. One shoe that I can think of that I like, which not many other people go crazy about, is the Nike Lunar Flyknit Chukka. The chukka boot look combined with a Lunarlon sole and Flyknit upper is just a thing of beauty to me. It’s stylish, you don’t see many people wearing it, it’s comfortable and the most important of all, I like it.

What do you think about my 10 reasons? Hit up the comments below and let me know other reasons why you may buy a specific pair of kicks.

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